IAB issues new ad package

The trade group Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) on Tuesday published a final set of ad sizes that it expects to be the backdrop for uniformity among Net publishers and their advertisers. Called the "Universal Ad Package," the ads include significantly larger sizes than those backed by the IAB years ago, including the standard banner, which was quietly dropped from the IAB's collection of sizes.

They include a wide-length banner that spans the top of a page, which is new; a skyscraper set off to the right or left; a large square box set in the middle of a Web page; and a smaller square unit. Each can display 15-second animations. The IAB said that advertisers can expect to reach about 51 percent of a Web publisher's audience if they support the four ads, which had been up for review by the ad and publisher community for several months.